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Years of controversy during the Trump era have some Southern Baptists arguing that the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is more trouble than it is worth.

Exploring the politics behind a new commission built on Christian privilege reveals competing understandings of religious liberty that have consequential implications for public schools.

Ben Boswell promises his new church will ‘dismantle systems of oppression and create justice, equity, and freedom for everybody — for all people.’

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Videos

Church

Once relegated exclusively to gay bars and nightclubs, drag is increasingly in the open these days — at libraries, music festivals, and, yes, churches.

Two commissions overseeing research into the denomination's part in the assimilationist schools are asking Episcopal bishops to grant access to archives in their regions and to recruit research assistants of their own.

The announcement comes less than two weeks before the election of the denomination’s next leader.

Nation

Interfaith Alliance conducted a briefing featuring several notable speakers who covered the Trump administration’s unprecedented violations of religious freedom during its first month and discussed the best ways to counter through collective action.

This issue of A Public Witness heads to the city that never sleeps to combat a zombie version of a famous biblical story.

‘We are running a tremendous risk, but we are doing it on principle,’ the Rev. Carlos Malavé, LCNN’s president, said.

World

AI is a growing interest for the U.N., as for national governments, multinational groups, tech companies, and others.

The U.S. continues to not only ignore the Convention on Cluster Munitions but also to ship the weapons to Ukraine. So this issue of A Public Witness uncovers the history of cluster bombs and the moral failure of nations that continue to utilize them.

The leaders are writing in response to a letter sent to Congress in June by religious groups and legislators asserting that the funds for the program were financing family planning and reproductive health programs, including abortion.

Editorials

Brian KaylorIf Baptists have a guiding word it would likely be “cooperative” — at least in theory. Yet, it seems we no longer believe in the c-word. Many Baptist churches have a denominational

Brian KaylorA couple local public school ballot initiatives recently inspired me to go door-to-door with my wife and five-year-old son. I told my son to say “vote for J & C” to indicate

Brian KaylorAttending church with a preschool child can improve one’s prayer life. I silently hope my five-year-old son won’t say anything embarrassing when the leader for children’s time asks a question. I pray

Word&Way Voices

Rev. Jennifer Butler, founder of Faith in Public Life, writes that Advent begs us to notice how God’s power shows up most for people in the wilderness rather than those ensconced in the halls of power. Our hope resides in joining the cloud of witnesses who have prepared the way

Elisey Pronin, a professor at Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine, writes that we are used to Christmas as a bright, joyful holiday. But not on the day Jesus came into the world. And also not for Ukrainians this year. But we believe in the Ukrainian sunrise, so we

Elijah M. Brown, general secretary & CEO of Baptist World Alliance, writes that Advent is a call to find comfort in the miraculous arrival of the Savior, but it is also an invitation to prayerfully journey with the many who will live this Christmas in the long shadow of war

E-Newsletter

This issue of A Public Witness looks at the problems with recent public school chaplaincy bills by considering what a chaplain really is and what religious freedom actually looks like.

This issue of A Public Witness digs into recent data from Lifeway Research and the Land Center to see what we can actually learn about a significant evangelical denomination and why the framing of the report misses the mark.

This issue of A Public Witness takes you inside the Summit for Religious Freedom to hear about why church-state separation matters for democracy and the vitality of the Christian witness.

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Recent Episodes

Books

In God Spare the Girls, Abigail and Caroline are the daughters of celebrity evangelical pastor Luke Nolan. While they aren’t always able to abide by scripture exactly, Abigail and Caroline more or less believe in their religion and their father

Beau Underwood reviews Bruce Reyes-Chow’s new book, ‘In Defense of Kindness: Why it Matters, How it Changes our Lives, and How it Can Save the World,’ praising how Reyes-Chow pushes back against superficial understandings of “kindness.”

Senior Editor Beau Underwood reviews the new book 'Praying with Our Feet: Pursuing Justice and Healing on the Streets' by Lindsay Krinks, a street chaplain and social justice activist in Nashville, Tennessee.

Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt talks with Word&Way about his book 'The Love that is God.' He discusses his reasons for writing, the book’s main message, and why “love” is not a sentimental idea but central to what Christians believe about God.